3 Reasons Why Your Brand Fails on Twitter

There are many ways to use this social network effectively to gain followers, spread your influence, and promote your business.

However, there are also many things that companies are doing wrong that will turn users away.

Why Your Brand is Failing to Make An Impact on Twitter

#1: Too Much Self-Promotion

For many, the objective of using social media as a business tool will be to generate leads and convert them into buyers in order to increase revenue. Nonetheless, this does not mean that every Tweet should be a sales message!

From our previous post, we mentioned a quote by social media expert Amy Jo Martin that is worth repeating here again. That, unlike television, “Social media is a dialogue, and not a monologue.”

It is not a broadcast medium, it is a tool that is designed to drive conversations first. After all, that is what the “social” part of social media stands for!

One way to solve this problem is to apply the “70/20/10 Rule” that many social media managers employ:

70 percent of Tweets should be sharing content, information, tips, and answering questions that you have run into that are relevant to your business.

The goal of these posts is to add value to your audience, in return, this will help build and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry.

20 percent of Tweets should be sharing content from others on Twitter.

“Paying it forward.” This means that you are sharing other brand’s and people’s posts and ideas through retweets and quotes.

10 percent of Tweets should be promotional.

By adding value first with the other 90% of tweets, you can subtly slip in the occasional brand-related message by advertising new products, endorsing sales and coupons, and promoting events.

Another widely used format is the “80/20 Rule.” which similarly advocates sharing 80% content that relates to your business, with the other 20% dedicated to promotions.

#2: Lack of Interaction

No one likes to be ignored.

William James once said, “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”

For many brands, your fan-base and level of interaction may be too large to respond to every question or thank every single user who engages with you on Twitter.

However, for smaller brands it is absolutely imperative that you answer questions and show your appreciation to those who are helping build your brand.

A simple “Thank You” can go a long way in establishing trust and presenting your company as one that provides excellent customer service – both which are key ingredients of business success. Again, this comes down to one of the main principles of social media, that it is designed to be a two-way conversation.

Would you ignore someone’s question, comment, or praise in public? If so, that person will probably end up resenting you and, in the world of social media, one bad move can result in a PR crisis and spread like wildfire in a matter of minutes.

#3: Your Content is Boring

The amount of noise on social media can be overwhelming, especially on Twitter where Tweets are produced at the astounding rate of 400 million per day!

Here is another important stat: Everyone likes to have fun.

While many B2B businesses want to project a professional image at all times, there is also a fine line between professional content and boring content.

The companies that are using Twitter effectively all have one thing in common: They provide interesting, high-quality content that adds value to the audience – whether it is through entertainment, education, or through great customer service.